iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tantusar @tantusar.au · 05/10/2026

Ballot packs for the #lgtas elections go out this week, which seems as good a time as any to launch this cycle's edition of the Quick Links. Links to candidate statements and prefilled VotePlans at your fingertips! lgtas.tantusar.au/2026/

A screenshot of the site in question, a grid of the 29 Tasmanian councils, with logos and links to VotePlan and candidate statements.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 29/09/2026

With the (now) conclusion of #lgtas nominations, the time has finally come for the Graph of Futility! Despite everything, there is still a sea of candidates you've never heard of and will never hear of again. A bespoke Robson Rotation matrix is required in Hobart. #politas

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 29/09/2026

Nominations for the unfilled #lgtas positions have been taken and announced. Three candidates exist for the two King Island positions, EIGHT candidates exist for the one Tasman position. Where the hell were you a week ago? #politas

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 22/09/2026

And finally today, West Tamar. Plenty of good news here, the colours are more interesting, the typography is less dated, the A-frame is even pointing the right way now. Unfortunately that A-frame is still on a bridge named after famed asshole John Batman, so... Hmm.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 22/09/2026

Tasman. I get it. Your old boat logo had too much detail. That sucks for screen AND print. You are now a generic logistics company. Technically better but utterly rancid vibes.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 22/09/2026

Meander Valley's rebrand takes its cues from the Valley's slightly less recent place branding exercise. I think ultimately this IS a better logo, but I will miss those plateaus.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 22/09/2026

Latrobe HAS a logo with marginally better typography, (the same weird toothpaste L) but I guess we're stuck with this for now. This is the only completely unchanged logo I'm calling out.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 22/09/2026

Kingborough ditches the tiny crest that was cluttering up their otherwise passable wordmark.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 22/09/2026

Kentish have chosen a better colour for Cradle Mountain, softened up the rest of the palette... and then stuck an airgapped border around the thing for... reasons unknown.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 22/09/2026

Glenorchy had a brand refresh recently and took the opportunity to cleanup the linework significantly... And add a droplet that, now that it's there, one wonders why it ever wasn't.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 22/09/2026

Dorset is salmon now.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 22/09/2026

My home of Clarence had been sticking with its crest for official communications for probably too long by this point, and has had a much simpler, dare I say, friendlier logo for absolute yonks. They're using it here now. Good.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 22/09/2026

Burnie has decided that the colour version of their logo should have outlines, and I agree with that decision, although the SVG has some unfortunate spurs.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 16/09/2026

In other #auspol #JSCEM news, they're talking to Australia Post on Friday.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 16/09/2026

...and, with mild apologies to @kevinbonham.bsky.social, who has been beating this drum for much longer than I have, a visual explanation of the differences between three versions of the Gregory count used by many multi-member systems in Australia.

Page 10 of the author's final supplementary submission to the JSCEM for the 2025 federal election. Explanation of the basic concept underpinning the Gregory counting system.

Page 11 of the author's final supplementary submission to the JSCEM for the 2025 federal election. Explanation of three variations of the Gregory count.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 16/09/2026

...a summary of savings provisions, legislative discouragement and exclusion zones around the country...

Page 6 of the author's final supplementary submission to the JSCEM for the 2025 federal election. Summary of voting methods, savings provisions, legislative discouragement and exclusion zones federally and in New South Wales.

Page 7 of the author's final supplementary submission to the JSCEM for the 2025 federal election. Summary of voting methods, savings provisions, legislative discouragement and exclusion zones in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

Page 8 of the author's final supplementary submission to the JSCEM for the 2025 federal election. Summary of voting methods, savings provisions, legislative discouragement and exclusion zones in Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

Page 9 of the author's final supplementary submission to the JSCEM for the 2025 federal election. Summary of voting methods, savings provisions, legislative discouragement and exclusion zones in the Northern Territory, and a further summary of all jurisdictions.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 16/09/2026

...a case study of informality at the 2024 and 2025 #politas elections...

Page 4 of the author's final supplementary submission to the JSCEM for the 2025 federal election. The first half of a discussion of informality at the 2024 and 2025 Tasmanian state elections.

Page 5 of the author's final supplementary submission to the JSCEM for the 2025 federal election. The second half of a discussion of informality at the 2024 and 2025 Tasmanian state elections.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 16/09/2026

The submission includes a brief discussion of what the ACT is thinking about electoral matter definitions...

Page 2 of the author's final supplementary submission to the JSCEM for the 2025 federal election. Contains the definitions of electoral matter used in the ACT and federally.

Page 3 of the author's final supplementary submission to the JSCEM for the 2025 federal election. Contains a discussion of the ACT's feelings on their definition of electoral matter.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 16/09/2026

My final supplemental submission to the #JSCEM 2025 #auspol election inquiry was published today.

Page 1 of the author's final supplementary submission to the JSCEM for the 2025 federal election. Contains a table of contents, a short introduction, and abbreviated terms used in the submission.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 03/09/2026

The NEXT set of #lgtas electoral reforms have been tabled in #politas parliament in the form of a dedicated electoral bill and a bill with consequential and other amendments. ...And we're still using original flavour last parcel Gregory for the count. Boooooooo.

Page 165 of the Local Government Electoral Bill 2026, with a portion of Schedule 1, section 11(4)(a) highlit, describing that when a candidate is elected after having votes transferred, only the votes most recently transferred are used to fill the surplus.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 10/08/2026

Well, I'm having a rough day, but at least I own this stupid #auspol shirt now. Shame it couldn't turn up in time for the hearing.

I think you'll find...
I Number All Of The Boxea
Becausr ticking the boxes would not result in a formal House of Representatives vote under sections 240 and 268 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, and I always vote formally in federal elections.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 04/08/2026

Former Senator Catryna Bilyk is added to tomorrow's #auspol #JSCEM schedule. Parliament remains misspelt.

Schedule for the Federal Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters hearing at Parliament House, Hobart on Wednesday 5 August 2026

11:15 am: Senator Peter Whish-Wilson and Senator Michelle Ananda-Rajah
12:00 pm: Mr Thomas Chick
12:45 pm: Break
1:30pm: Dr Kevin Bonham
2:15pm: Dr Robert Hortle, Dr Lachlan Johnson and Mr Doug Chipman
3:00pm: Mrs Catryna Bilyk
3:45pm: Close

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 31/07/2026

#auspol #JSCEM hearing schedule for Hobart on Wed released. Two senators, [insert self-deprecating remark], three members of UTAS' Tasmanian Policy Exchange including a former Clarence mayor, and @kevinbonham.bsky.social. Just ignore the guy in slot 2, not important at all.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 28/06/2026

Confirmed via the Sunday Tasmanian: the amended #lgtas amendments will not be passed until three weeks before nominations open. #politas

Sunday Tasmanian, June 28, 2026
New reforms to shape local council elections
Rob Inglis
A specific paragraph is circled:
“There is every intention for the lower house to agree to the Legislative Council amendments when it next sits in August, with the bill to be enacted in time for the October elections,” he said.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 14/04/2026

Per the SA Constitution, twelve consecutive sitting days without leave is the limit in the Assembly. (The Council has an identical section.)

Constitution Act 1934 (South Australia)
31—Vacation of seat in Assembly
(1) If any member of the House of Assembly—
(a) for twelve sitting days consecutively of any session of the House of Assembly without the permission of the House entered upon its journals fails to attend in the House; or
(ab) is not or ceases to be an Australian citizen; or
(b) takes any oath or makes any declaration or acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to any foreign prince or power; or
(c) does, concurs in, or adopts any act whereby the member may become a subject or citizen of any foreign state or power; or
(e)
(f) becomes bankrupt or an insolvent debtor within the meaning of the laws in force in the State relating to bankrupts or insolvent debtors; or
becomes a public defaulter; or
(g) is attainted of treason; or
(h) is convicted of an indictable offence; or
(i) becomes of unsound mind,
the member's seat in the House of Assembly shall thereby become vacant.
(2) The seat of a member of the House of Assembly is not vacated because the member acquires or uses a foreign passport or travel document.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 11/04/2026

Missed that the 2025 #politas election report came out last month. Looking at omissions in prefs: No *obvious* bump at only 5 prefs, which was the pre-2024 requirement (and about half had non-6 later numbering) but the bump at only 6 prefs (Senate ATL req) is stark. Similar systems affect formality!

A chart showing percentages of votes at the 2021, 2024 and 2025 Tasmanian general elections that were informal for incomplete sequences of preferences.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 03/04/2026

1,137 posts on the blog at time of writing, with a total of 5,624 comments. (85 is the most, on "2016 Tasmania Senate: A Model Of What Might Occur". The fewest is 0, a 298-way tie.) Just for good measure, an update to those charts I made mid-last year:

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 25/03/2026

The full document is the supplementary to 253 here: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar... I had intended for the two large tables to be separate documents, but they've been concatenated to the main body by the secretariat. Oh well. The committee is coming down here for a couple of days next month. 5/🧵

A table of upcoming public Electoral Matters hearings:
27 March 2026 in Canberra
28 April 2026 in Hobart
29 April 2026 in Devonport

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 25/03/2026

- A misunderstanding about how BTL votes are counted (4-page table) - Putting unfolded ballots facedown into an open box is a terrible idea - Online voting is a terrible idea - Loyalty clauses and party primaries are terrible ideas - Constitutional emendment might be a GOOD idea 4/🧵

Constitutional emendment might be a GOOD idea

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 25/03/2026

In other ideas other people had: - Borda doesn't solve my proportional House misgivings - Literally circular ballots don't solve anything - You can't just make House divisions cross state borders - Multi-division PPVCs are mostly UNDERresourced, actually (see also the 66-page table) 3/🧵

You can't just make House divisions cross state borders

Multi-division PPVCs are mostly underresourced, actually

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 25/03/2026

- A strongly worded message to the Special Minister of State - With apologies to @grugstan.bsky.social (who is probably right about it being necessary) scepticism about the practicality of the Tasmania Rule - Further scepticism about the practicality of a proportional House of Representatives 2/🧵

Scepticism about the practicality of the Tasmania Rule

Further scepticism about the practicality of a proportional House of Representatives

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 25/03/2026

My supplemental #JSCEM submission went up today, including a 66-page table of pre-poll voting centre attendance data and a 4-page table (🖼) outlining the rates at which below-the-line Senate votes left their first marked column before marking every box (national rate 17.84%). But also: #auspol 1/🧵

Below-the-line voting data for the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales

Below-the-line voting data for the Northern Territory and Queensland

Below-the-line voting data for South Australia and Tasmania

Below-the-line voting data for the Victoria and Western Australia

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 13/01/2026

"Sand Seal, Delivered" A sand sculpture of Neil the Seal, at the stadium end of Bellerive Beach 🧵

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 11/01/2026

gist.github.com/Tantusar/5b4...

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 02/01/2026

sometimes you have to print something out and stick it in a display book to make it feel real and important and something to be proud of #JSCEM

The author's submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters' inquiry into the conduct of the 2025 [Australian] federal election and other matters, printed out and stuck in a display book

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 11/12/2025

My submission supports: - Increasing the number of Senators for each state to 18 (and all that entails) - Introducing savings provisions to Reps ballots (at least 6) - Abolishing eligibility requirements for pre-poll voting - No fixed or 4 year terms

The list of recommendations from Thomas' submission, namely:

House formality and savings provisions
That the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 be amended:
1. So that a ballot paper in a House of Representatives election is not informal as long as it indicates an order of preference for at least six candidates;
2. So that a formal ballot paper in a House of Representatives election can be set aside as exhausted; and
3. Notwithstanding 1 and 2, so that a ballot paper in a House of Representatives election still instructs the voter to number all candidates.

The tide of early voting
That the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 be amended:
1. So that Section 200A no longer imposes any grounds upon an elector applying for a pre-poll vote; and accordingly
2. So that the title of Schedule 2 no longer references pre-poll voting.

Expanding the parliament
1. That the Representation Act 1983 be repealed and replaced with a Representation Act that has similar effect, except that the number of senators for each State shall be 18;
2. Assuming 1 is not adopted, the same, except that the number of senators for each State shall be 16.
The author of this submission has no opinion on the representation of territories in the Senate, except:
3. That in the event territory representation in the Senate is increased to a number less than 6 total Senators, those Senators continue to be elected for unstaggered terms of three years.

Pipe dream constitutional amendments
1. That someone much smarter than me look into what can actually be done about section 44 of the Constitution;
2. That no changes be attempted to sections 7(¶4), 13, 24 or 28 of the Constitution; and
3. That no attempt be made to introduce fixed terms to the House of Representatives.

Miscellaneous thoughts
1. Do not tarnish the perceived impartiality of the Australian Electoral Commission by saddling them with responsibility for “truth in political advertising” laws.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 11/12/2025

Oh hey, my #auspol #JSCEM submission [235] got approved in the same tranche as @kevinbonham.bsky.social [243] today! (With how late to it I know we both were (at least prior to the February extension) I wasn't expecting either to hit the web until after the new year.)

The 12th page of submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters' inquiry into the 2025 federal election. Submission 235, by Mr Thomas Chick, is circled.

The 13th page of submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters' inquiry into the 2025 federal election. Submission 243, by Dr Kevin Bonham, is circled.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 29/11/2025

Another #auspol year over, another Dynamic Rüd from the Senate: adjourned.senate.gov.au/2025/ Unfortunately, Rudolph's anti-discrimination bill has once more been referred to committee. No reindeer games for the poor chap this year.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 28/11/2025

well there's always the title page

The title page for the parliamentary report "Am I Ever Gonna See You Live Again?" The subtitle reads "Yes way! You bet! Oh yeah!"

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 30/10/2025

The #auspol #JSCEM have announced that submissions to the 2025 Federal Election inquiry will close on Friday, 14 November 2025, alongside an initial dump of 86 submissions. Tomorrow's hearing takes evidence from Global Shield, Prof Rubenstein and the EIAT.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 14/10/2025

A long day ahead for the #auspol #JSCEM tomorrow as they open their public hearings with the AEC, two think tanks, a former MP, and two academics.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 10/08/2025

Some terrible Python code later: AFLtables.com lists 2544 regular season rounds of V/AFL. 147 (tonight will make 148) feature matches with the teams in first and last prior to the round. 19 (in blue) were won by the last place team, most recently Collingwood against West Coast in round 9 of 2005.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 01/08/2025

@kudelka.bsky.social's not wrong, kunanyi rocks. Excellent goddamn mountain.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 19/07/2025

Oh no! Nobody voted! #politas (Okay, obviously it's not 6:45pm yet. :P)

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 16/07/2025

116 years of #politas Hare-Clark elections in one chart.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 14/07/2025

This Robson Rotation visualisation has come out almost exactly the way I pictured it. Is it actually useful? Hard to say. #Franklin #politas

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 30/06/2025

i do enjoy recreating ballot papers, but gee do they make it difficult sometimes. i only know this is the correct first ballot (and therefore know the other thirteen, the algorithm's in the regulations) because i was in the room when the draw happened. #politas #Franklin

The first ballot paper for the electoral division of Franklin at the 2025 Tasmanian Election.

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Tantusar @tantusar.au · 09/06/2025

We're often concerned with the bigger picture when we consider the counting of Senate votes. But every one of those 15,871,189 ballots tells a story. Not all unique, but all worth telling. #auspol These are Real Ballots: realballots2025.tantusar.au

A large banner reads:
These are Real Ballots: 2025 Australian Federal Election

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